Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is made up of members as well as the executive director of the organization. The mandate of the Board is to ensure the proper functioning of the organization by respecting the priorities for the year, voted by the active members at the annual general meeting.

Jennifer Boucher

President

A graduate in criminology, Jennifer Boucher has worked at CAVAC since 2009 as a worker with victims of crime.

Having completed her internship at GAIHST as part of her studies in criminology, she then remained there as head of the Help and Information Department from 2007 to 2009. Always having the mission of GAIHST at heart and wishing to get involved for the cause, she joined the board of directors in 2019.

Valéry Kovalenko

Vice-président

Lawyer at Municonseil avocats firm, Valéry Kovalenko works mainly in municipal law and labor law.

Devoted to social causes, she has worked in several organizations helping victims of sexual assault and harassment, including the United Nations Department of Safety and Security.

She has been a member of the GAIHST Board of Directors since 2020.

Sarah Barsalou

Treasurer

A lawyer by training and a graduate in law and international studies, Sarah Barsalou is assistant director of the non-profit organization Regeneration Canada.

Having practiced as a lawyer in the Complaints department of GAIHST from 2014 to 2017 and knowing that it is the only organization in Quebec dedicated exclusively to helping victims of workplace harassment of all kinds, Sarah is very sensitive to the mission of GAIHST. She has been a board member since 2019.

Maria Allaham

Secretary

Maria Allaham joined the Bombardier team in April 2022 as a Government Affairs Senior Advisor based in Montreal. As such, Ms. Allaham works on government affairs files and engages in activities with government stakeholders and other stakeholders in the aerospace sector and in the business community.Prior to this, Ms. Allaham worked as a senior policy advisor to federal and provincial ministers and members of parliament, notably the environment, women and gender equality, and transport ministers. She has also worked in the academic and community fields.Ms. Allaham holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Master’s in Public Administration and Public Policy from Concordia University.Ms. Allaham was a board member of the Jeune Chambre de Commerce des Femmes du Québec and sits on the board of the Help and Information Center since 2022. She was an active volunteer in different organizations including the Canadian Red Cross.

Emily Lapointe-Carpenter

Administrator

Emily Lapointe-Carpenter practices as a lawyer in a boutique litigation firm in Montreal. She is particularly interested in human rights as well as labor, family and youth law. Before her law studies, she completed a bachelor’s degree in criminology at the University of Montreal. After some experience in intervention with young people, their parents and with victims of criminal acts, Emily decided to redirect her career towards the law.

It was during an internship at GAIHST in 2019-2020 that she was able to discover how it was possible to help more vulnerable people through the law. Her desire to collaborate in the continuity of GAIHST’s unique mission led her to join the Board of Directors in 2023.